Some for renown, on scraps of learning dote, And think they grow immortal as they quote.

Much learning shows how little mortals know; much wealth, how little wordlings enjoy.

The clouds may drop down titles and estates, and wealth may seek us, but wisdom must be sought.

Wonder is involuntary praise.

Islam is a religion of success. Unlike Christianity, which has as its main image, in the west at least, a man dying in a devastating, disgraceful, helpless death.

A text of Tibetan Buddhism describes the time of death as a unique opportunity for spiritual liberation from the cycles of death and rebirth and a period that determines our next incarnation.

The kids out there want something they can relate to, something that's real; most of that whiny stuff isn't real. The cheesy pop songs just bore me to death.

The novel is always pop art, and the novel is always dying. That's the only way it stays alive. It does really die. I've been thinking about that a lot.